1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a headlight assembly for a motor vehicle, for example, a motorcycle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When a motorcycle rider drives on the curved road or at the intersection at night, he or she generally has the limited range of illumination, distributed by a headlight device of the motorcycle, in an area on which the rider's eyes are focused during cornering. This is because a headlight lens and a light emitting element forming part of the headlight device is fixed, so that the headlight device can not direct the light to that area in accordance with the tilting of the motorcycle during the cornering.
In view of this, the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-347977, published Dec. 18, 2001, for example, discloses an improved headlight device for a motorcycle, in which based on the bank angle of the motorcycle detected by a bank angle detector, a headlight condensing lens and a light emitting element, both forming respective parts of the headlight device, are rotated about their center axis in accordance with the detected bank angle in a direction counter to the direction, in which the motorcycle is tilted during, for example, cornering. This headlight device is advantageous in that during the cornering on the curved road or at the intersection at night, much light can be directed to an area on which the rider's eyes are focused during the cornering, allowing the rider to enjoy a better visibility.
However, the above mentioned Japanese patent publication is directed to the motorcycle of a kind, which utilizes a single headlight system, i.e., the motorcycle having a single headlight, and is silent as to a headlight system which provides the motorcycle with a plurality of, for example, two, headlights. More specifically, the above mentioned Japanese patent publication is silent as to the specific arrangement of two headlights and the use of a control unit for controlling the spatial distribution of headlight illumination.